Kino no Tabi:Volume9 Frontispiece2

“A Tale of Walls” —Sweet Home—

Kino and Hermes were running through a grassy plain.

The warm afternoon sun was floating in the sky.

When they ascended a big gently sloping hill and looked at the opposite side, Kino exclaimed in surprise,

“Wh-what is it…?”

“Wow.”

Hermes, who was suddenly stopped, was also startled.

There was a country. Its walls describing a circle were spreading across the wide plain. Due to the height of the walls, the inside of the country couldn’t be seen at all.

“Have you heard anything about this country, Kino?”

“No, Hermes, I don’t know anything about it. I was told that this plain could be used to make a shortcut, but no one told me about a country. We were supposed to arrive to the next country in three days.”

“Then what is it?

“What can it be…?”

Kino started the engine and ran Hermes towards the wall.

The wall was extremely high.

It was three times higher than any ordinary wall. If one stands right beside it and looks up, he won’t be able to see its top.

Kino approached the towering wall and looked around. A gate wasn’t visible at either side of the white flat wall.

“I wonder where the gate is.”

“The only way to find out is to search for it.”

Kino started the engine and began moving along the wall, keeping it to the left.

They were running.

And running.

However there was no gate. Just the white wall in front of them and behind.

“Kino, what if the gate was just around the corner, if we started moving clockwise instead?”

“That might be true,” said Kino, but kept moving in the same direction.

“Kino, stop for a moment.”

Hermes said. Kino slammed on the brakes.

A shoe fell down right beside Hermes’ wheel.

It was a small red shoe.

Just the right one. It was lying alone on the ground.

It wasn’t dirty, but a clean one.

“A shoe. What the?”

“A shoe. What the heck?”

Kino and Hermes conversed, but there was no answer.

Leaving this shoe behind, Kino started the engine.

“I can’t see it.”

“How can this be, Hermes?”

No matter how long they ran, there was no entrance.

Then suddenly.

“Oh.”

Bump.

“Ouch.”

Kino was taken aback, the dry sound was heard, and Hermes let out an exclamation.

A small stone fell from above. It whizzed past the tip of Kino’s nose, hit Hermes’ tank, bounced off it and landed on the ground.

Kino stopped Hermes, turned around and looked upward.

She was looking upward.

However, there was nothing but the tall wall.

There was just the tall wall.

“We’ll make full circle pretty soon.”

“Seems like it.”

Said Kino and Hermes. However they kept moving.

The gate was nowhere to be found. The gate was nowhere to be found. The gate was nowhere to be found.

They didn’t find the gate.

Kino and Hermes stopped when they stumbled upon tire tracks. These were Hermes’ tire tracks.

The sun was leaning to the west. The evening was drawing in.

“We’ve made a full circle.”

“Yeah.”

Murmured Kino and Hermes.

At that moment—subtly, faintly, tenderly—a joyful voice was heard. Someone’s joyful, really joyful voice was heard.

“Did you hear it?”

“I did.”

“Do you hear it now?”

“Not anymore.”

Kino and Hermes stayed there for a while—

But they didn’t hear the voice anymore.

They didn’t hear the voice anymore.

Kino and Hermes were running, leaving the extremely tall walls behind their backs.

After crossing two hills, Kino looked back. The walls, dyed crimson red by the setting sun, were gracefully rising to the sky.

She looked at it through her goggles, and then silently turned around. Her goggles reflected the crimson red glare.

Kino and Hermes were running through the grassy plain.

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